Sound Off

November 07, 2004

Cider House Rules

In reference to Jan Ellen Spiegel's column [Bite of Connecticut, Oct. 31] Hogan's Cider Mill is NOT the only place selling unpasteurized apple cider. Robert's Orchards on Hill Street in Bristol does, too. Also, Indian Rock Nature Preserve in Bristol does apple cider pressing for children's groups, and the kids drink the cider right there, not pasteurized.

My husband, Larry, and I won't go to Rogers Orchard or Minor's Farm for cider, only to the unpasteurized places. It just tastes better. We are not concerned about getting sick, either. We've been drinking it this way all our 50-year-old lives and we are as healthy as ever. Just wanted to let you know. Hogan's has got enough publicity already.

Susan Palaia

Bristol

Political Puzzle

Shame on Elliott Sperber. I don't think the cryptogram appearing in Northeast Oct. 31 should be a time for him to express his political views. I wonder how long his nose is?

Millie O'Toole

Wethersfield

Pumpkin Delight

I had the extremely pleasurable experience of reading (and re-reading) ``The Extreme Gardener'' [Northeast Oct. 24] by David Holahan. What a great story! I laughed out loud so many times that I spilled coffee all over myself. The idea of a grown man ``marking'' his territory to keep ``four-legged critters'' out is just too funny. Even better was the follow-up news that Mr. Holahan won first prize with his 575 pound pumpkin. Congratulations and kudos to this man for his outstanding efforts!

I cannot recall any one story motivating me to write to Northeast magazine since Lary Bloom left. Perhaps we can see more of Mr. Holahan's writing in the future.

Chris Barnhart

Old Saybrook

Spring Revisited

Regarding Northeast's story concerning Spring Weekend, [``Out of Control'' Oct. 10] the magazine's editor did The Courant's readers a disservice. The narrative tells a very different story from the photographs. Only by reading the story would one have learned that UConn has been working cooperatively with student leaders, local town officials, the state police, prosecutors and the court system, other colleges and high schools in the region, and local landlords in developing coordinated, substantive responses to the Spring Weekend dilemma. In contrast, the photographs served to sensationalize the story by including only the most outrageous visuals. Unfortunately, most people will only look at the photos and never read the lengthy story. As a result, they will never gain a real understanding of the complexity of the situation and the responses that are both being undertaken and contemplated by the numerous groups involved.

Richard T. Carbray, Jr.

Newington

The writer is president of the

UConn Alumni Association

There was a major omission in Northeast's [``Out of Control'' Oct. 10] recent story concerning Spring Weekend that undercuts the piece's credibility. According to the story, Spring Weekend's major problems occur off-campus on properties owned or managed by private entities. Yet, inexplicably, none of these landlords was involved in the story in any way.

How could the reporter not question these key people to determine their response to the problem? And how could Northeast's editors not understand that these landlords' responsibilities and actions, or the lack thereof, are critical components of this story?

It cannot possibly be that the story space available in Northeast was too limited. Both the size of the photographs and the length of the narrative could easily have been reduced to include this vitally important information and perspective.

You don't need to be a trained journalist to recognize that the omission of the landlords' input relegates the Spring Weekend story, at best, incomplete, and at worst, not credible.

John H. Driscoll, Jr.

Glastonbury

Your cover story ``Out of Control'' [Oct. 10] fails to address the role of parents in curbing underage drinking associated with Spring Weekend at UConn. According to your story, a significant percentage of those attending the Spring Weekend parties are not UConn students but high school students. As a UConn alum, parent of a UConn student and parent of a high school student, I can't help but wonder how so many students who don't have any legitimate affiliation with UConn can be involved in Spring Weekend. Where are the parents of these children? Do they not know what their underage children are doing these nights? Or worse yet, are they giving them the green light to participate?

In the absence of a legitimate reason for being at UConn, parents would do the university, and more importantly their own children, a great service if they simply forbade them from hanging around the UConn campus especially on Spring Weekend. When it comes to Spring Weekend, parents of high school students should ``just say no.''